Hello,
I've been a Windows user for many years, and have a home server which is running Windows 10 Pro (after Microsoft abandoned Windows Home Server). The hardware is still 'good enough' but Windows isn't as 'snappy' as it ought to be, and a switch to Ubuntu Server seems to be the right way to move.
Almost all the devices that will be accessing the server are Windows 10/11.
The server has three drives, one for the OS and two for storage.
My installation plan is as follows:
1 - Back up the stored files (to a Netgear ReadyNAS)
2 - Check the back-up
3 - See 2
4 - Install Ubuntu server (from a live CD initally, just in case there are some hardware issues)
5 - Re-instate the back-up
The server is connected to the router via a cat 6 cable and the router handles DHCP.
After some research it seems that samba sorts out access to storage from Windows clients - this was the one thing I couldn't get my head around.
Does this look sensible, or have I overlooked something? Aside from an old laptop running Lubuntu, I have pretty much no experience with Linux.
All advice appreciated.
Chris